In May, China National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) and the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, top performing arts institutions of China and Russia, combined their artistic efforts online, demonstrating mutual friendship and common pursuit.

On May 3, the two institutions, after meticulous preparation, jointly launched a concert dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation, in which Chinese and Russian artists made technology-empowered innovation of international cooperation that transcends time and space.

On May 5 and 17, two ballet films from the Bolshoi Theatre The Sleeping Beauty and Giselle were screened at NCPA, with an average attendance rate of more than 96%, well received by audience.

On May 28, Swan Lake and Coppelia from the Bolshoi Theatre made their debut on the NCPA Classical Music Channel, providing the audience with authentic Russian ballet performances via high-definition online streaming. The two works, respectively choreographed by Yuri Grigorovich and Sergey Vikharev, are classics that pay homage to tradition and preserve to the maximum extent the glorious tradition of Russian ballets.

Since the signing of the strategic partnership agreement between the NCPA and Bolshoi Theatre in 2010, the friendship between the two institutions has been deepened over the past decade, contributing to the cultural exchanges and mutual learning between China and Russia. The pandemic has in no way stopped people’s longing for art and beauty. In the future, the two sides will continue to promote artistic exchanges between China and Russia to benefit more art lovers.